Under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur in medical negligence, the burden of proof:

• A Always lies with the plaintiff (patient) regardless of circumstances
• B Is shared equally between plaintiff and defendant
• C Is abolished and replaced by strict liability in medical practice
• D Shifts to the defendant (doctor) when the injury could not have occurred without negligence ✓

Explanation

Res ipsa loquitur ('the thing speaks for itself') is a legal doctrine under which the mere occurrence of the injurious event raises an inference of negligence, shifting the evidentiary burden to the defendant physician to disprove it. It applies when the injury is of the kind that ordinarily does not occur without negligence (e.g., a surgical sponge left inside a patient), the instrument was under the defendant's control, and the patient did not contribute.

Reference: The Essentials of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (Narayan Reddy), 34th ed.

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Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.